Wall structure with snap-on header and sill members

ABSTRACT

A rigid wall structure comprising at least one sheet metal panel having a profile of raised and valley portions extending the length of the member, and projections extending from both sides of the panel adjacent the ends thereof. Elongated sill and header members are disposed on the ends of the panel, the sill and header members having a profile of notches and tongues disposed in mating engagement with the raised and valley portions of the panel on one side thereof. The sill and header members are further provided with integral ridge or shoulder portions extending lengthwise thereof engaging the projections on the panel to lock the members on the ends of the panel.

United States Patent Billie C. Merldn Pittsburgh, Pa.

Oct. 1, 1970 Jan. 4, 1972 Aluminum Company of America Pittsburgh, Pa.

[72] Inventor [21 Appl. No. [22] Filed [45] Patented [73] Assignee [54] WALL STRUCTURE WITH SNAP-ON HEADER [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,019,707 1 1/ 1935 Jenkins 52/494 2,069,176 1/1937 Budd 52/578 2,100,957 11/1937 Hoffman Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott Assistant Examiner-Leslie A. Braun Attorney-Elroy Strickland ABSTRACT: A rigid wall structure comprising at least one sheet metal panel having a profile of raised and valley portions extending the length of the member, and projections extending from both sides of the panel adjacent the ends thereof. Elongated sill and header members are disposed on the ends of the panel, the sill and header members having a profile of notches and tongues disposed in mating engagement with the raised and valley portions of the panel on one side thereof. The sill and header members are further provided with integral ridge or shoulder portions extending lengthwise thereof engaging the projections on the panel to lock the members on the ends of the panel.

PATENTEU JAN 41972 INVENTOR.

- BILL/E C. MERKI/V Altorney WALL STRUCTURE WITH SNAP-ON HEADER AND SILL MEMBERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to rigid wall structures, and particularly to a wall structure comprised of a preformed, ribbed panel having sill and header stmctures attached thereto.

Preformed panel structures with vertically extending ribs, i.e., raised and valley portions extending the height of the panel are being increasingly used as exterior wall paneling in building constructions, and as load bearing wall structures if the panels are sufliciently strong. A high strength wall structure for such load bearing purposes is disclosed in application, Ser. No. 46,634 filed June 16, 1970 in the names of J. D. Klingensmith and B. C. Merkin, and assigned to the present assignee.

The strength of the Klingensmith and Merkin wall structure is provided by the use of a rigid sill and header members tightly clamped respectively to the bottom and top ends of the ribbed panel, by clamping members and securing hardware (such as self-tapping screws), and sill and header and the clamping members having notch and tongue portions engaging opposed sides of the panel in mating relationship with the raised and valley portions thereof.

Thus, the structure disclosed in the application briefly discussed above requires two separate clamping members (one for the sill and one for the header) that must be manufactured (extruded, for example) and punched to provide the tongues and notches that engage the side of the panel in mating relationship with the valley and raised portions thereof. In addition, screws or bolts are required to secure the sill, header and clamping members to the ends of the panel.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a wall structure employing snap-on sill and header structures that do not require separate clamping members yet provide a wall structure that is strong and rigid. This is accomplished by providing the panel with projections extending outwardly from each side thereof near each end of the panel, and providing the sill and header structures with integral shoulder portions which snap over the projections and engage the same when the sill and header are located on their respective ends of the panels. The sill and header include further an inclined wall portion having tongues and notches dimensioned to engage respectively the valley and raised portions of the ribbed panel on at least one side thereof.

Such a structure is economical to produce and assemble since the cost of clamping members and associated hardware are eliminated as well as the time and labor required to attach the clamping members to the panel and to the sill and header members.

THE DRAWING The invention, along with its advantages and objectives will be better understood from consideration of the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which: I

FIG. I is an exploded perspective view of a rigid wall structure constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a sill member clamped to one end of a panel member shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with the invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown an exploded perspective view of the wall structure of the present invention, the wall being comprised of three basic members, namely, a preformed panel having elongated sill and header members 12 and 14 attached thereto in the manner presently to be explained.

The panel 10 is a ribbed structure having a profile of raised and valley portions extending between the ends of the panel, the profile providing front and rear sections 16 and 17 joined together by a transition section 18.

As seen in FIG. 1, adjacent each end of the panel 10 is a row of projections or tabs, the lower row being designated 20, and the upper row 22. As best seen in FIG. 2, the projections extend outwardly from both faces or sides of the panel, i.e., outwardly from front or raised sections 16, and outwardly from the rear or valley sections 18 of the panel. The projections may be formed by a suitable punching operation which preferably provides each projection with a crown portion that is spaced from and slopes into the side of the panel. The crown portions of the lower projections 20 face up while the crown portions of the upper tabs face down.

The projections 20 and 22 need not be provided by a punching operation for the purposes of the invention. Instead, they may be separate members suitably attached to the sides of the panel 10 though integrally formed projections or tabs are preferable from a production standpoint.

The sill and header members 12 and 14, in accordance with the invention, are provided with integral structural portions which allow the sill and header to be simply and quickly clamped on the ends of the panel, and which, when clamped to the panel ends, provide a strong, rigid wall structure.

More particularly, as best seen in FIG. 2, the sill l2 (and the header 14 as explained hereinafter) is disposed in engagement with one end of the panel 10, the end of the panel engaging at first, elongated base wall portion 24 of the sill. The structure of the sill includes further two elongated side walls 25 and 26 integral with and upstanding from the wall portion 24, the distance between the sidewalls being sufficient to accommodate the panel 10 in the manner shown in FIG. 2.

The inside surfaces of the sidewalls 25 and 26 are provided with elongated shoulder or ridge portions 27 inclined downwardly (in the FIGS.) at an angle substantially equal to that of the projections 20 provided on the panel, and spaced a distance from the inside surface of the wall 24 equal substantially to the distance the projections 20 are spaced from the lower end of the panel 10.

The structure of the sill 12 includes further a fourth elongated wall portion 28 integral with and extending from the upper edge of the sidewall 25, the wall portion being inclined toward the sidewall 26 at an acute angle with the plane of the lower wall 24 of the sill. The inclined wall, as best seen in FIG. 1, is provided with notch and tongue portions 29 and 30 extending along the length of the wall, and dimensioned in accordance with and corresponding respectively to the raised and valley portions 16 and 17 of the panel 10.

The sill 12 includes further leg portions 31 for supporting the sill and panel on a floor or foundation structure 32 (FIG. 2).

The sill 12 (as well as the header 14) is preferably conveniently economically extruded to provide a wholly integral structure, the wall portions 24 to 28, the shoulder portions 27 and the legs 31 being simultaneously formed by the extrusion process. The notch and tongue portions 29 and 30 may be provided by a convenient punching operation.

The sill 12 is easily and quickly clamped to one end of the panel 10 by simply aligning the notch and tongue portions of the sill respectively with the raised and valley portions of the panel and moving the sill onto the end of the panel 10 unu'l the shoulder portions 27 of the sill move past the projections 20 provided on the panel. As the sidewalls 25 and 26 move onto the panel, the projections tend to spring the sidewalls outwardly until the shoulders pass the projections at which time the sidewalls spring back to seat the shoulders over the projections. In this manner, the sill is quickly and securely attached to the end of the panel, and it is attached without the use of a separate clamping member and associated securing hardware.

Because of the crowns of the projections 20 on the panel 10, and the corresponding incline of the shoulders 27 in the sidewalls of the sill 12, added wall strength and security of sill attachment is provided.

With the sill 12 attached to the panel 10, as shown in FIG. 2, the notch and tongue portions 29 and 30 of the inclined wall 28 engage the side of the panel facing the inclined wall, the tongue portions being seated in the valley portions of the panel, and the raised portions of the panel extending into notch portions of the sill wall 28.

The header 14, like the sill 12, is an elongated member having an elongated wall portion 32 provided with notches 33 and tongues 34 shaped and dimensioned to seat respectively around and in the raised and valley portions of the panel 10. The header further has elongated sidewalls 35 and 36 provided with shoulder portions 37 extending the length thereof for engaging the projections 22 of the panel and thereby securing the header 14 to the top of the panel in a manner described above in connection with the sill. The shoulder portions 37 are inclined to engage the crown portions of the projections 22 to increase wall strength and security of attachment between the header and panel. As with the sill 12, the sidewalls 35 and 36 extend perpendicularly from a base wall 38.

The header 14 may include further an elongated wall portion 39 extending in a plane substantially perpendicular to the base wall 38, and in a direction opposite to that of side wall 36, for receiving and locating a beam or plate (not shown) over the wall structure, the beam or plate being suitable for say attaching roof trusses or other structural members though the invention is not limited thereto. For similar reasons, the base wall can be extended laterally beyond the plane of the sidewall 35 of the header, as shown in FIG. 1, the extended wall providing an extended surface for supporting such beam or plate structures.

From the foregoing description it should now be apparent that a new and useful rigid wall structure has been disclosed, the structure providing an ease of assembly with the use of elongated snap-on sill and header members. This is accomplished by using a preformed panel provided with raised and valley portions extending the length (height) of the panel, and a row of projections adjacent each end of the panel extending outwardly from both sides thereof. The sill and header members are provided with ridge or shoulder portions extending lengthwise of the member for seating over the projections when the members are properly disposed on the ends of the panel, the projections and shoulder portions locking the members on their respective ends of the panel. The strength and rigidity of the panel is increased by notch and tongue portions provided in one wall of each of the sill and header members, the notch and tongue portions being located in mating engagement with the raised and valley portions of the panel on one side thereof.

Whereas particular embodiments of the invention have been described above for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A rigid wall structure comprising at least one sheet metal panel having a profile of raised and valley portions extending the distance between two opposed ends of said panel,

said panel having further at least two rows of projections adjacent the ends thereof extending outwardly from both sides of said panel, and

elongated header and sill members disposed on the ends of said panel, said header and sill members each having a first wall portion disposed in engagement with the respective ends of said panel, and a second wall portion spaced from said first wall portion along the length of the panel, said second wall portions being provided with a profile of tongues and notches corresponding to the valley and raised portions of said panel, said tongues and notches being disposed in mating engagement with the valley and raised portions of said panel on at least one side thereof,

sai il header and sill members further having two sidewalls with integral shoulder portions seated over and in engagement with the projections of said panel for locking said header and sill members to said panel.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which the header and sill members are extruded structures.

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1. A rigid wall structure comprising at least one sheet metal panel having a profile of raised and valley portions extending the distance between two opposed ends of said panel, said panel having further at least two rows of projections adjacent the ends thereof extending outwardly from both sides of said panel, and elongated header and sill members disposed on the ends of said panel, said header and sill members each having a first wall portion disposed in engagement with the respective ends of said panel, and a second wall portion spaced from said first wall portion along the length of the panel, said second wall portions being provided with a profile of tongues and notches corresponding to the valley and raised portions of said panel, said tongues and notches being disposed in mating engagement with the valley and raised portions of said panel on at least one side thereof, and said header and sill members further having two sidewalls with integral shoulder portions seated over and in engagement with the projections of said panel for locking said header and sill members to said panel.
 2. The structure of claim 1 in which the header and sill members are extruded structures. 